Improvement in sewing-machines



4 Sheets-Sheet 1. l. M. SINGER.

Sewing Macihne.

Pa tented 0m. 9, 1855.

I illa/@5 5 N4 PETERS Phntb lhognlphnn Wahinglnn, D. c,

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

|.. M. SINGER.v

Sewing Macihne.

Patented Oct. 9, 1855.

N. PETERS. PllokrLilhogv-aphar, Wuhinglun. 11C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

I. M. SINGER.

Sewing Macihne.

Patented Oct. '9, 1855.

1 a s as h hogmpher. Washington. 0 c

between the edges of the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC M. SINGER, on NEW YORK, N, v.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,662, dated October9, 1855.

To coZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, ISAAC M. SINGER, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machinery for Sewing Compound Seams, whichimprovements are also applicable to embroidering, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichFigure 1 is a front and Fig. 2 a side eleva-' tion of the parts abovethe table,- Fig. 3, an elevation of the rear end; Fig. 4, a horizontalsection taken at the line A a of Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and 6, bottom views ofthe seam; Fig. 7, a top view of a compound seam, and Fig. 8 a view ofthe embroidered surface.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures. r The firstpart of my invention consists in the employment of a tongue on the bedof the machine and placed between the two needles for sewing fine orthin fabrics, which tongue is a narrow strip of metal lying between thetwo needles, and under which the threads pass that unite the two rows ofstitches. This gives support to the cloth or other fabric during theperforation by the needles and prevents it from being puckered by theoperation of drawing the stitches tight; and as the seam progresses thestitches are drawn off from the end of the tongue, which merely acts asa support during the operation of forming and tightening the stitc Thesecond part of my invention relates to a method of guiding the cloth tothe needle or needles in forming seams when one or both pieces of clothto be sewed is or are lapped or folded over to make a flat seam; andthis part of my invention consists in the employment of two guide-platesattached to the bed or frame of the machine, and having the guiding-cordmade thin and sufficiently elevated from the bed or table to be embracedby the fold of the piece of cloth which is thus guided by having thebottom of the fold embraced two guide-plates. Vhen two pieces of clothare to be connected by a compound seam, both pieces being previouslylapped or folded, then the lap or fold of each piece embraces one of theguide-plates, and in this manner the folded edges of the two pieces ofcloth are thus held together and presented in a proper manner to the twoneedles, to sew one range of stitches 011 each .side of the junction ofthe two folded edges; and in other forms of flat seams one of theguide-plates is made double, to embrace the guiding-edge of the otherand the cloth on it. The last part of my invention relates to a methodof uniting compound seams on the upper surface of cloth or othersubstances by means of a laying thread or compound thread, whichisconnected with the two threads forming the two rows of stitches, andextends from the one to the other, whereby the two lapped or foldededgesof the two pieces of cloth or other substance can be united at one operation, and thoroughly bound together by such thread or threads passingalternately from the one to the other; and this 'part of my inven- .tionis also applicable'to laying embroidery or ornamental work on thesurface of cloth or other substance, whether in connection with two ormore, or only one needle; and this part of myinvention consists incombining with the eye-pointed needle or needles a vibratingthreadcarrier or any equivalent therefor, which, after the needle orneedles are drawnup, carries a single or compound thread across thesurface of the cloth and in front of the needle or needles, so that whenthe feed motion advances the cloth, (with such thread lying on it) tospace the stitches, and the needle or needles are operated to make thenext stitch, they descend in front of the thread so laid on the surfaceof the cloth, and thereby interlace and secure it. On the return motionof this carrier the thread is again laid on the cloth in front of theneedle thread or threads, but running in the opposite direction, so asto be again interlaced in the manner named.

The accompanying drawings represent a sewing-machine such as is wellknown and in extensive use, with a shuttle carrying one thread tointerlace the needle-thread, and being well known, it is not necessaryto be described.

' On the needle-carrier a, operated in the usual manner, there are twoeye-pointed needles, b I), placed side by side, and each carrying itsappropriate thread in manner similar to single-thread machines.

The shuttle c, constructed and operated in the usual manner, moves inthe usual shuttle race, (I, in a line parallel with a plane passingthrough the two needles, so that when the two needles perforate thecloth and carry their appropriate threads below the cloth, and thereform two loops, the shuttle, instead of passing through the loop of onlyone needle-thread, passes in succession through the loops of bothneed1e-threads, and therefore when the two needles are withdrawn twostitches are form ed, each with a needle-thread and the shuttle-thread,while at the same time the two stitches are connected by theshuttle;thread, which extends from the one stitch tothe other. If theshut} tle moves back without passing through the loops of theneedle-threads, as in the accompanying drawings, the cloth havingadvanced to space the next stitches, the shuttle-thread 0 will appear onthe-under side of the cloth,

as in Fig. 5, at right angles to the progress of the seam in the forwardmovement of the shuttle, and diagonally on the return movement; but if adouble-pointed or double-acting shuttle be used,as in many well-knownmachines,- then the shuttle-thread will'appear, as in Fig; 6, straightacross the seam for all the-stitches-,- and in the direction of the seambetween the several stitches of eachrow.

The cloth to be-sewed must be fed or moved forward for spacing thestitches in a line atright angles to a plane passing through'the twoneedles, or, what is the same thing, at'

right angles to the lineofmotionof the :shuttle. The feeding iseffectedb'y a pad, f, onthe lower end of a lever, g,'which turns on aful crum-pin, 71, attached to the pressure slide-bar 1?, which is forceddown toward the surface of the table by a helical spring, j,therebycausing the pad to make pressure on the surface of the cloth lying onthe table in manner well-known.- Thelower end of the pad-lever g isfitted to I work in aslot in the foot 70 of the pressure-bar The lower itoward and from the needles. end of the lever, with the pad, is forcedout-- ward from the needles to take the'required position for the feedby the tension of a spring, I, at the upper end, and it is movedtowardthe needles to give the feed'by a-U-formed lever, m, one endof whichacts on the lever, the other end being acted upon by =a cam, n,

on the needle cam-shaft, so located as to give the feed motion justbefore the needles enter the cloth. After the needles have enteredthecloth, the pad is lifted to permit it to be thrown back by the tensionof the'spring Z by aicam, 0, which acts on an arm, 19, attached-to thepressure sliding bar 1', before named;

There is a lever, q, which-turnson' afulcrum-pin, 1', attached to thestandard-.ofmthe frame. This lever is vibrated in one direction by aspring, 8, which keeps the rear end of the arm in contact with thesurface of a cam, t, on

the driving-wheel a, and so formed as-to vibrate the said lever in onedirection the momentthe needles have risen, and-keep itinastate of restduring the descent and rise of the nee=- dles, and thento permit it tobe vibrated back in the opposite direction at the end of the up motionof the needles, and there to hold ituntil the needles have again risen.The lever car ries a spool, c, at its rear end, the thread from which,whether single or compound, passes through a guide, w, also on thelever, and then around a tension-wing, as, to regulate the ten sion bythe turning thereof; and from this the thread passes through an eye orguide, y, on the forward end of the lever, and thence through an eye inthe extreme end of the thread-carrier 2, attached to and projectinglaterally and downward from the side of the lever at its forward end.The position of this carrier is such,-as shown in the drawings, as j tolay its thread on the surface of the cloth just in front of theneedle-threads before the feed .motion takes place, so that by the feedinotionthesaid thread shall be carried back of =the-line ofmotion of theneedles, and in iconsequence,'-when the needles descend, their threadspass over and bind this upper thread 'ontorthe' cloth, so'that theneedle-threads pass overit, while it passes around first outside ofone'needle-thread and then'around outside'of the other; In this w y itwill be seenthat'if considerable tension be given to this laying threaditwill be drawn tight from. one row of stitchesto the other, alternatelyin opposite directions, as at a, Fig. 7, thus-binding.together .the tworows of stitches on the upper surface of the cloth as effectually asthey are bound together below by the shuttle or its equivalent; but if aslight tension be given to i .the laying thread,-as the extent of motionof the carrier is greater than the distance between the two rows ofstitches, the thread will be laid so as to occupy a much greater widththan the distance between the two rows of stitches, thus leaving aseries of loops, formed by this layingthread, to project on each side ofthe two ranges of stitches, as represented by Fig. 8 of the accompanyingdrawings; In this way, by varying the tension on this thread, embroiderycan be laid and secured to the surface of the cloth, which, by turningthe-cloth, can be made to assume the lines of any desired design.

This part of my invention can be employed for ornamental work with one,two, or more needles. \Vhen employed in connection with one needle, theone series of loops will project on eachside of the row of stitches,and-when more-than two needles are employed they are to-be mounted andoperated as in the case-of two needles herein specified.v

I do not'wish to beunderstood as limiting myself to-the specialconstruction or arrangement of the parts herein specified, nor to thespecial arrangement of mechanism by whichithc required motions areimparted, but claim the privilege of changing these so long as I attainthesame ends by equivalent means.

What I claim as my invention, .and desire to secureby Letters Patent,is-

1. The employment of a supportingrtongue, substantially as described,placed between and in combination with the two needles, to support thecloth or other substance and prevent its being puckered during theoperation of sewing and drawing the two rows of stitches tight,substantially as described.

2. The employment of the guide-plates, substantially as described, toguide cloth that has been folded in making flat, or lapped, or otheranalogous seams, as described, so that the row or rows of stitches shallbe made at a regular and determined distance from the folded edge,

as set forth.

3. In combination with one or more eyepointed needles and shuttle,

or the equiva- W. H. BISHOP, ANDREW DE LACY.

